OMG!!! Why havnt we been using this!!??

Question

http://www.theaircar.com/acf/

Its a car that runs on air, and the only thing it releases back into the atmosphere is pure oxygen!

Thoughts? Opinions?

Answer 1

because the key and wind up spring was more efficient ......tom

Answer 2

Some of these questions are simply fascinating.  I wonder where the car gets pure oxygen for its exhaust.  (The air you're breathing right now is only about 1/5 oxygen.)

The compressed-air car is not very practical  Like every other energy-storage system, you have to move a lot of energy into it whenever you 'recharge' it.  If you do the appropriate mathematics you'll discover that to 'fill up' a compressed air car for an average day's use in less than 30 minutes requires an air compressor considerably larger than anything you can easily purchase, even if you're running a coal mine.  And the pressures required in the tanks and pipes in the car are not very appetizing from a safety standpoint.  

Answer 3

That technology is cost prohibitive.  You put more energy into it than you get out.

Answer 4

Because they haven't been fully developed yet.  The first one is expected to be released in 2010.

Also, you have to take into account the energy to run the air compressor.  They may not directly emit pollutants (neither do electric cars), but it does take energy to power them, and there are some emissions associated with that energy.

See the link below for a detailed analysis on the air car (wrote it myself!).

Answer 5

Energy density. If it takes 100 pounds of gasoline to fuel your vehicle (17 gallons), then to get an equivalent amount of energy from compressed air would require 9,160 pounds of "fuel". That's about three times what an average car weighs.

Answer 6

Did you know that Hitler was an environmentalist??

He wanted engines to run on water. He put the earth and animals above human beings. Sound familiar to todays times.

Read a book written by the president of the Czech Republic Klause. We must not be silenced by the so called liberals.

Answer 7

i've been seeing this for several months now.

but i have some serious doubts.

i think that it'll be pretty difficult to store anywhere near as much energy, just compressing air, as you'd find in gasoline, for example.

in addition, there is the problem of inefficient use, as you let it out, to drive -- probably some kind of turbine.

i could be way off, but i don't think so this time.

yes, i have seen some adds, and people who've read those adds thinking this is wonderful.

however, the science still seems shaky to me.

to say nothing of what would happen if such a car got into an accident, and punctured the pressurized tank.

i think i'd not want to be anywhere near that.

the energy released would be the same as if you vaporized the 10 gallons of gasoline in a tank, and lit it.

trust me, you don't want to be near it either.

Answer 8

Be careful around that pure oxygen ,as it supports combustion.  

Answer 9

Because they would probably be difficult to mass produce and cost an absolute fortune to buy at this point.

Answer 10

the air car is an interesting idea, and will develop further as time goes on. there are a few issues at present though, namely;

there is no infrastructure to support recharging the air tanks in the car

the tanks need to handle about 4500psi of pressure

even though the carbon fiber tanks are not heavy, especially compared to steel tanks, they are rather large in order to get a decent range out of the vehicle

other issues include the expense of the tanks, the fact that the tanks need to be re-certified every 5 years.

Answer 11

Its a great invention by the French, the compressors in France are powered by oil currently however they want them all to be done via Wind Power in the near future to make most cars one hundred percent clean. The only problem with it, is its mileage is only 100 as we speak, that's very low compared to the Hydrogen Car and the Electric Car.

Daniel.

Answer 12

Sounds like a concept that is far from achieving any market prosperity.  One other thing, the environment is not fragile.  

Answer 13

In the first place the car is not "running" on air. It is being powered by the energy difference between compressed air and atmospheric pressure air. The compressed air storage tanks are a medium for energy storage in the same ways that batteries are energy storage for an electric car. The source that compressed the air in the first place is "running" the car. To the extent that the air is compressed using electricity this concept might be considered an electric vehicle.

My understanding is that carbon fiber tanks are being used as they would crack rather than explode in the event of a failure.

Measures of the equivalent energy storage per pound compared to gasoline may not be pertinent if the relative efficiencies of the power train are not taken into consideration. The internal combustion engine is considered 14% efficient? Various configurations of compressed air storage vehicles consistently suggest 800 to 1000 miles on a normal 4 to 5 hour "long" charge.

Short fill up times (similar to gas station fill ups) are achieved by having air compressed into stationary tanks over time and then passed to the vehicle tanks quickly.  (Super large compressors are not required.)

Compressed air being released creates a cooling effect (expanding gas) and gives the possibility of Air Conditioning at little additional expense.  Overcooling the engine historically has been problematic.  One of the cites below shows a hybried compressed air / IC engine that seems highly practical.  Typical air compressors to get air up the 3000psi tank pressure are made in stages which allows some cooling between the stages.  SCUBA tanks are currently compressed to this level as are many "compressed" gasses available today.

The technology is not new. Anyone familiar with air tools knows that they are lighter with greater torque then their electric motor counterparts. Some dentists currently use compressed air storage for their drills. There are two CAES (compressed air energy storage) facilities used to store off peak energy for the grid.  One is in Alabama.  There is a CAES system combined with a windmill power generation plant due to come online this year in Ohio. A new 6 lb rotary compressed air engine is currently being developed in Australia.

Electric Cars have a problem with current battery technology. With compressed air the storage problem is resolved. Free hydrogen is also essentially an energy storage medium because it does not occur naturally and must be "produced." There is no demonstrated way to do this efficiently at this time. Compressed air storage efficiency can be demonstrated with current technology.  Most of the infrastructure is current technology.  (electricity, air compressors, tanks, wheels etc)

I would say this is a technology who's time has arrived. The technology may be unusual but, the internal combustion engine was a little odd when it arrived on the scene. I would put a compressor in my garage maybe even run by solar cells! Good Question.

Answer 14

They are still being developed. Compressedd air does not offer very much power for its volume. That means that the cars do not have the range, speed or acceleration as a gas or diesel car. Also, because the air cars make so little power, they are not very big and are very plain (no radio, no power anything, just lights). Then you have the problem of compressing the air. The inventors claim that they only use green energy like wind to power the compresors, but that is not realistic for much of the world (especially the areas they intend to market: Mexico, India etc).

I think the air cars will be a part of the future, but they will not be a primary fuel source. I think the average consumer will end up with cars that use biofuels (biodiesel and ethanol) and electric cars. Motor-pools like public transportation, municipal services and so on will use fuels like CNG and hydrogen.

Answer 15

It sounds like a scam.